One of the most grinding work experiences is to be stuck with a bad boss.

Over time, it’s even more corrosive to your spirit than being in the wrong job. At least if you are miscast in a job or a company, you often can leave the organization or rotate into another assignment.

It is particularly frustrating if you like your work and the company. I am in the right place with the wrong person, you find yourself thinking.

If you are suffering in a relationship with a lousy boss, your options are limited. You usually must make two key choices.

The catharsis of railing against the follies of your supervisor is usually the first choice.

If you decide you need to express your feelings about your boss, pick a listener who will not feed your comments back into the organization, eventually to reach your boss’s ears.

Be careful about constantly complaining. Over time, it feeds into an attitude of negativity, and you will find co-workers starting to avoid conversations with you.

Try to move ahead with your own accomplishments and assignments.

Look for ways for your work to come to the attention of competent leaders, who will judge you on the evidence of their interactions and not on your boss’s descriptions of you.

Where possible without compromising your integrity, try to adjust to your boss’s requests or demands for how he wants to receive information and where he wants to be involved.

If this strategy does not work, you face the tough choice of when and how to complain about your boss.

Theoretically, you should be able to do this at any time by going to your human resources representative.

There are only two problems with that concept: Many companies have cut the HR budget so drastically that you may not have anyone in HR to whom you can complain; and bad bosses who are called on the carpet by HR often find a way to get even.

Clearly, if your boss is doing something illegal or unethical, you should not keep quiet. Short of that, you should assess the political environment before you speak out.

John Epperheimer is an executive coach and former newspaper editor. Contact him at jepperheimer@workpathgroup.com or (408) 261-3700.